Facade
by JeanieBeanie33
Summary: Narcissa Black Malfoy’s thoughts on Lily Evans Potter. 'Perhaps Narcissa had been wrong.' No pairing.


Narcissa had never believed Lily Evans really had been an angel

**Disclaimer**: Nope, don't own. I just occasionally stick a toe into J.K. Rowling's extraordinary world.

**Summary**: Narcissa Black-Malfoy's thoughts on Lily Evans-Potter. 'Perhaps Narcissa had been wrong.' No pairing.

**Facade**

When she had been younger, Narcissa had never believed Lily Evans really had been an angel. In her mind, no such thing was possible. As she put it, humans were far more inclined to do bad than good – and who was to say that angels existed, even in heaven (if heaven existed to begin with)?

In school the teachers had fawned, students had fawned (a few more easily disarmed Slytherins were no exceptions), and doubtless Lily's muggle parents had fawned over her at home. Slughorn saw fit to sing praises about her high marks in his class whenever he saw her, extending an invitation to join his precious 'Slug Club' although on more than one occasion she claimed that a Transfiguration assignment due the next day had mysteriously slipped her mind. James Potter asked her out what must have been at least once a day, every day for five years, from the beginning of second year until she finally accepted half-way through seventh year (or so Narcissa had heard; she'd graduated by then). Characteristics about Lily were scarcely ever not described without using the words 'angelic' or 'beautiful' or 'charming' or 'perfect' (or something to that effect) – perfect marks, perfect figure, beautiful hair, beautiful eyes, angelic face, charming personality, sharp wit, lovely sense of humor, tinkling laugh, selfless attitude. _'The way they make her out, she sounds like a saint,'_ more than one envious Slytherin girl had said nastily. Narcissa was never one of them; in her mind, a true Black never was jealous of another girl (unless they were a Black), no less a Mudblood.

Because of her distaste for Lily and because of her heritage, it was to no surprise when Narcissa chose to side with Voldemort, almost simultaneously choosing to marry Lucius Malfoy (but she _did_ most assuredly choose; despite what other people may have thought, no one could have forced her to do something). Her mother was thrilled, Bellatrix was approving (majority-wise anyway because, as she said, "no one perfectly deserves a Black, but a Malfoy is close enough"), Sirius was insulting, and as for Andromeda – well, Narcissa didn't care about what _she_ thought. Not anymore.

Also predictably, Lily became an Auror, and an honest one at that. She ended up marrying James Potter, after he "stopped being such a pretentious prat" (that's what Narcissa heard, and did in fact believe; Lily was too much of an incentive to change, since she was such a 'perfect angel' and all), and later had one son, Harry James Potter (Narcissa was rather disappointed at how ordinary the name was, but did condescend that it had a slight ring to it after a while). Narcissa became involved with hiding objects of the Dark Arts that Lucius 'played' with and sometimes brought to Death Eater meetings; likewise, she met the Dark Lord and was suitably impressed, though not as adoring of him as her sister Bellatrix, who had married a Lestrange. This effect was further lessened somewhat after Draco was born and she heard Voldemort and Lucius speak of his future; she did _not_ want her only son involved in such dangerous activities. Her husband was enamored with him and that was all good and fine, but she'd keep her son out of those affairs, she thanks you very much (if you don't have muggle blood in you, that is; if you do, she asks you to rid her of your presence).

Narcissa kept this mindset until the Halloween of 1981, when her beautiful and perfect son Draco was one and she was almost twenty-seven. Lucius and she were in one of the many sitting rooms at Malfoy Manor and Draco was in bed when her husband told her what exactly Lord Voldemort was up to that night. He was going to kill the Potters! Peter Pettigrew had been made their Secret Keeper, and since he was a secret follower of Voldemort he had told his master exactly where they were! Narcissa was silently scornful of Pettigrew and his traitorous ways – she didn't appreciate turncoats, especially cowardly ones, because you never knew what side they were truly on or if they could be bought – but did applaud Voldemort's plan to eliminate two of the biggest threats to his rise to power, if only for her husband's benefit. The next morning her views were changed.

For some reason, the news of Lily Evans-Potter's death struck a chord within her. Not that she was murdered, but the way she died. It was never directly stated, but after hearing where Lily had been found (right in front of Baby Harry's crib), courtesy of the _Daily Prophet_, Narcissa _knew_. The woman who also shared her name with a flower had made the ultimate sacrifice, had shown the deepest form of love, had done the selfless and pure angelic act, of dying for her one and only son Harry. In those days, those dark days filled with murders of those who opposed Voldemort and that had ended the night James and Lily Potter died, when sacrificial love had become so rare and the idea of which was almost forgotten, Lily had given up her life in the hopes of the slight chance that it would somehow save her son (even though she must have known it was just short of futile). That was something Narcissa never thought she would hear of, something that she'd thought had nowadays subsisted only in fairy tales – and yet, Lily Evans, who she'd previously thought less than half as angelic as people said and held in near contempt, had proven that such a thing existed.

Perhaps Narcissa had been wrong. Perhaps she should not have chosen to be on Voldemort's side. Perhaps Lily's façade hadn't been a façade at all. Perhaps the bouquet of lilies and narcissuses spotted on Lily's grave a couple days after her funeral were not from her sister – because perhaps, just maybe, Lily Evans really had been an angel. Narcissa just wished she'd realized it sooner.


End file.
